Why Routes (to make sense, pronounce it roots)

Living in a family is like traveling on various types of roads. Some days it's smooth going, other days it's all bumps and gravel, and every now and then we reach a super highway. 

My husband, Michael, and I have reached that wonderful age that years ago we looked forward to as retirement. The time in life when you kick back, quit work, and travel the world. No one told us back then about sandwiches or, in particular, becoming one. Evidently being sandwiched between generations and their needs and issues doesn't merit a brochure.

We have come to realize that when you live in family you don't live in a vacuum. (Even though you may feel you have been sucked into something.) Right now we find ourselves surrounded by parents, children, and grandchildren. That retirement plan hasn't kicked in yet and there's not a travel brochure in sight. 

Yesterday while driving home from work, Michael suggested that I blog about marriage and family. Of course, I eagerly accepted the idea of adding one more thing to my plate. After all, I still have an hour or so every now and then that is not scheduled. Why not fill that up as well. I explained to him that I was already doing what he suggested in other forms; writing about marriage, family, and elder care. I thought that logic would be enough to change the subject, but Michael persisted with his argument that I had never combined them all into one. 

Now as much as I wanted to shut down the conversation, I had to admit that he had a point. You can't get the full picture of extended family life when you just focus on one aspect or another. Besides, he continued, it would be a great way to humorously talk about all the challenges. (His words, not mine.)

So traveling homeward, we began talking about roads we have traveled and how they compare to the roads of life. As we have driven across our nation and in other countries around the world, we have often been enjoying a beautiful highway only to enter a construction zone where pavement disappears and we weave through a dusty one-lane road for a while. Family is like that sometimes.

Then we thought about scenic routes versus the fastest way to get there. We experience that in family as well. We are often in a hurry to get through a current situation when the Lord seems to want us to linger on that road for a while. Sometimes the sweetest things happen in family when we slow down and let God work.

Then there are dead end roads that look so good in the beginning, but end up going no where. There are congested roads, and winding roads, and roads with no light at the end of the tunnel, and... Yes, I agreed, family is like each one of them at times. As we made the final turn onto our street, he almost had me convinced.

When we got home (after fixing dinner, getting my folks to bed, joining in a Bible study, and finishing up some laundry) I looked up "route." 

It means:

• a way to get from one place to another place
• a way that someone or something regularly travels along
• a way of achieving or doing something

Okay, I'm convinced. That sounds like family to me!

the scenic route